Comic Relief is the latest major UK charity to choose OpenMarket to drive its mobile fundraising

Comic Relief, the UK charity that uses entertainment to raise money to help poor and disadvantaged people at home and overseas, has chosen leading mobile engagement company OpenMarket to drive SMS mobile donations for its 2014 Sport Relief fundraising campaign. This year’s Sport Relief campaign is using the OpenMarket Mobile Engagement Platform (MEP) to power its mobile donation channel, allowing people to donate to the appeal by sending a text message to a short, five-digit code. OpenMarket is managing the entire SMS donation process on behalf of Sport Relief.

“We chose OpenMarket for its proven track record in the charity sector, delivering a reliable mobile platform that can scale to support multiple concurrent fundraising projects, all running nationwide,” said Jacqueline Hill, Head of Campaign Management at Comic Relief. “We were particularly impressed by OpenMarket’s in-depth knowledge of the mobile donations domain and the speed with which they delivered a solution that met all of the needs of our 2014 Sport Relief campaign.”

The OpenMarket platform supports text-based donations for more than 20 separate Sport Relief fundraising projects across the UK. OpenMarket is providing four charity donation SMS short codes so that donors have the choice of donating different amounts of money via SMS. The SMS donation campaign began on January 13 with special Sport Relief editions of the BBC show “The Great British Bake Off”. The programme featured an on-screen message that invited viewers to donate money by sending a text message to a short code supplied and managed by OpenMarket. The campaign will continue with other shows and events, culminating with the Sport Relief Games on March 23.

Comic Relief is the latest charity to enlist OpenMarket’s help for its mobile requirements. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is currently using the OpenMarket Mobile Engagement Platform for donations made via Premium SMS for its Philippines Typhoon relief appeal. Children in Need, the BBC’s charity for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK, also used OpenMarket for SMS-based mobile donations for its 2013 campaign.

“Our selection to support Sport Relief reinforces OpenMarket’s market position as the mobile provider of choice for major charities and high profile broadcast campaigns,” said Adrian Sarosi, Director of Marketing and Business Development at OpenMarket EMEA. “With the experience and insight of our team, plus the tried-and-tested reliability of our technology, organisations can properly capitalise on the value of mobile devices as an affordable, convenient and flexible channel to reach and engage with large numbers of end-users.”

Sport Relief is one of the UK’s biggest fundraising events, and encourages people to raise money through sponsored sport-related events and activities leading up to the weekend of Friday March 21 to Sunday March 23 2014. The money raised is spent by Comic Relief to support projects helping poor and disadvantaged people in the UK and around the world. Supporters of the cause can text FIVE to 70510 to donate £5, terms and conditions apply. Texts cost £5 plus the standard network charges and donors must be 16 or over and have the bill payer’s permission.

About Sport Relief
As one of the UK’s biggest fundraising events, Sport Relief brings the entire nation together to get active, raise cash and change lives. Since 2002, Sport Relief has raised over £195million. The money raised by the public is spent by Comic Relief to help people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world.

From the BT Sport Relief challenge Walliams Vs The Thames to Eddie Izzard’s 43 marathons in 51 days, Sport Relief has a unique history of brave celebrities taking on gruelling physical challenges to raise cash and change lives and Sport Relief 2014 will be no exception.

Comic Relief is a UK charity, which aims to create a just world, free from poverty. The money raised by Comic Relief, through its fundraising campaigns Red Nose Day and Sport Relief as well as other initiatives, is spent at home in the UK and across the world to help people, families and whole communities stand on their own two feet.

About OpenMarket
OpenMarket, a subsidiary of Amdocs, helps enterprises use mobile to transform their business.

OpenMarket provides mobile engagement solutions for organisations to optimise their operations and enhance relationships with their customers and employees. Major enterprises choose OpenMarket for our domain expertise, service flexibility, demonstrated performance and reliability, global scale, and corporate maturity. We provide smart, interactive connectivity to more than 200 countries, enabling businesses to engage with nearly every mobile user around the world. Our clients trust us to power their mobile business. For more information, visit www.openmarket.com.

About Amdocs
For 30 years, Amdocs has ensured service providers’ success and embraced their biggest challenges. To win in the connected world, service providers rely on Amdocs to simplify the customer experience, harness the data explosion, stay ahead with new services and improve operational efficiency. The global company uniquely combines a market-leading BSS, OSS and network control and optimization product portfolio with value-driven professional services and managed services operations. With revenue of $3.3 billion in fiscal 2013, Amdocs and its more than 20,000 employees serve customers in over 70 countries.

Amdocs’ Forward-Looking Statement
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